The present invention relates generally to apparatus and method for collecting and presenting contaminants from a fluid. More particularly, the present invention relates to collection and concentration of dissolved heavy metal ions in a fluid for the purpose of making analytical determinations.
With the increased concern for environmental pollutants, attention has been directed to detection and analysis of contaminants in fluids. Many forms of analysis have evolved including microscopic, chemical, and X-ray analysis.
In some cases, simple gravity was used to pass the fluid through a filter which was placed over the opening of a container and then particles trapped by the filter were analyzed. In others which attempted to speed up the flow of contaminated water through a filter, apparatus was designed that forced the water through the filter by increasing pressure on the water above the filter. And yet, other devices use a combination of increased pressure above and partial vacuum below the filter in order to pass the liquids through the filters. These devices were rather cumbersome to operate and required many gauges and valves to control the pressures. A feature missing from these prior art devices was the ability to recirculate the water through the filter in order to thoroughly collect the contaminants to perform an accurate analysis.
Of course, in the manual set-up wherein the filter was placed over the opening of the container and the liquid poured through the filter, the container had to be re-emptied and the liquid poured through the filter repeatedly to achieve the proper collection of contaminants. The inability of the prior art devices to permit multiple thru puts of the liquid through the filter does not allow the prior art devices to have the sensitivity of an apparatus that allows multiple thru puts. An apparatus that provides for multiple thru puts has the ability to concentrate the contaminants present in the liquid thereby improving the sensitivity of the collection apparatus and providing greater repeatability and reproducibility of the analytical results obtained.
A general shortcoming of prior art devices is their inability to collect dissolved constituents within a fluid. Most of the prior devices were intended to collect suspended particles.
In view of the foregoing, it should now be understood that it would be desirable to provide an improved fluid contaminant collection apparatus that would solve the above and other problems.
Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a fluid contaminant collection apparatus wherein multiple thru puts of the contaminated fluid is provided for.
Another object of the invention is to provide a fluid contaminant collection and presentation apparatus that allows the collection of dissolved constituents from a known volume of fluid.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus to collect and present a concentrated sample of contaminants from a known volume of fluid and to present the concentrated sample for X-ray analysis.